It’s November, So… Week 11 Power Rankings and BOWL PROJECTIONS!

It’s a subtle change, but one that makes college football our nation’s greatest sport: NOVEMBER ABSURDITY!

Every year, there are monumental upsets, plays, and controversies that can define a coach’s era at a school or a program altogether. Moments that fit the old cliche of “I’ll tell my grandchildren about this”. Games that make you say “if only we’d won that one…”. November football is fun. Bill Connolly of SBNation cited oh, one season-defining game for EVERY CALENDAR DAY IN NOVEMBER, which has rejuvenated my belief that college football isn’t the WORST THING EVER after an ill-fated trip to North Florida.

So what, besides my favorite holiday, has me pumped for November?

The fact that I stand to be 100% wrong with the first Power Ranking/Bowl Projections, where Florida is now on track to be bowl eligible and shows it’s learned nothing about criminal savvy:

1) Alabama (CFP Rose/Sugar): Nick Saban has turned over the Xbox controller of the Alabama offense to Lane Kiffin. I expect the Tide to win out against LSU, Miss State, and Auburn. Still. And yes, I still hope I’m wrong.

2) Mississippi State (is there any real rhyme or reason to the selection of the next four bowls? Cotton): A close win against a still game Arkansas team (yes, I have them in the upper half of this week’s rankings despite them not winning since Obama’s first term) continues to convince me they’ll slip up somewhere.

3) Auburn (Citrus): Based on their dismantling of LSU and win at Ole Miss, Auburn is probably the flavor of the week in the league this week. I still have no trust in their defense, although their passing game is evolving to offset a less-explosive-than-last-year running game.

4) Ole Miss (Outback): Welp, I was wrong.

5) LSU (Music City): LSU has a chance to eliminate the SEC from the CFP altogether. Here’s how:

6) sigh Georgia (yay? Peach): That’s right, although Georgia’s big-picture goals have been taken away by mostly their own doing, I still think winning out gets them to 10-2 and a Peach Bowl. This would constitute the best Georgia season in what, 6 years?

7) Arkansas (none…for now): We’ve got to watch this one closely. At 4-5 and 0-5 in conference, it’s easy to write them off. But home games against LSU (almost beat them last year) and Ole Miss (falling apart due to injury) are both at least somewhat winnable, and a Thanksgiving Friday tilt against Mizzou dictates a LOT in the SEC East.

All of the bowls after the first six become kinda amorphous, so every other bowl-eligible team is getting the benefit of convenient travel tie-ins. Except Mizzou, because f*** em:

8) Texas A&M (Liberty): Almost had a major slip-up against Funroe, as freshman dynamo Kyle Allen…did not look great. After they visit Auburn, they close with Mizzou and LSU at home, so they could move up the bowl pecking order like where we had them….oh, a month ago?

9) Missouri (Texas): The number I keep hearing that makes me nauseous: Mizzou winning out would mean seven wins against teams that are currently a combined 10-29 in conference. Someone please stop this.

10) Kentucky (Belk): I’ve always felt like Kentucky should be in the ACC, and they’ll get two chances (the first against Louisville Thanksgiving weekend) to prove it.

11) Florida (TaxSlayer): Going back to the scene of the crime in Jacksonville, which seems to be a common mistake amongst Florida players.

12) Tennessee (Music City): Home against Kentucky and Mizzou. Road game against Vandy. Man, that win at South Carolina was HUGE. Are we here to assume that Josh Dobbs is the QB of the future in Knoxville, or could Andrew Hall throw for 5 TD’s against this year’s South Cack defense?

13) South Carolina (none): Watch them beat Clemson and get to play in the Bahamas Bowl.